where the music matters

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, comes from the Norwegian producer Klunks. “Vanersom” is the first track off Hollow Scenes, released this year on Seattle label Hush Hush Records, run by KEXP’s DJ Alex.

Klunks – Vanersom (MP3)Get out your over the ear headphones and get ready to traverse the depths of Klunks. This past November, the electronic producer Klunks emerged from the cold, blustery Norwegian winter to offer up Hollow Scenes, eleven mellifluous soundscapes of jazz saxophone-driven tracks mashed up with ambient tinkering, all situated in an experimentally instrumental lounge. As a follow up to his 2015 debut, Elastic Forest, his latest opus sounds like its tracks have a foundation inspired by a Brian Eno quality of ambience and forward-thinking production. The foundations are layered with a variety of saxophone licks that are at times smooth jazzy and soothing and at times tastefully, but piercingly dissonant while infused with a host of electronic beat-keeping inflections.

Throughout the album, there’s a sense of going in and out of serenity and decay. At its most simplistic, the sculpture of his softer measures like ” Vanersom” – the four-plus-minute opening track on Hollow Scenes – could be eccentric score for stargazing or a high sensory planetarium experience. Commencing with what sounds like ultra resonating xylophones perfect for a state of dreaming, the number quickly showcases its staple of saxophone, vocal splices, and digital sea of cascading effects. At his most intricate you’ll experience a lush forest of cerebral rhythms, angelic voices echoing, manipulated sounds, and the ebb and flow of dark and harmonious droning. It’s music you might have to acquire at first but then you’ll find yourself coming back to again and again.

It looks like Klunks generally stays off the grid in terms of social media and a website for his music, buy you can check out more of his music on Bandcamp and SoundCloud. For now, listen to another great song off of Hollow Scenes called “Shell Houses.”

For the rest of the year, we’ll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2016, leading up to our 2016 90.3 Top Album Countdown! Voting ends on Friday, December 9th at 6:00 PM PT, so let us know your favorites now, and tune in on Friday, December 16th to hear if your picks made the list! Anyone who votes is automatically entered to win the Top 10 Albums of 2016 as voted on by you, the listener, provided by Sonic Boom Records. Winners will be notified by email on Friday December 16th.

Thanks for reading! Hope you found some good music to get you through 2016 and into 2017 going strong. I post lots of music on Tumblr and if you’re really bored at word or on the bus follow along on Twitter!

As we reported last month, Scottish siblings The Jesus & Mary Chain are releasing their first new album in eighteen years, Damage and Joy, out March 24th via ADA/Warner Music. (The album title is apparently “a reference to the English translation of schadenfreude.” Interpret that as you will!) Today we have the first track, “Amputation” — which debuted on Steve Lamacq’s BBC Radio 6 show, and can now be streamed below. The once estranged brothers Reid have patched things up, with younger sibling Jim reporting, “In the last couple of years, we’ve buried the hatchet to some degree, and thankfully not into each other.” The album also features the band’s touring drummer Brian Young and former Lush bassist Phil King. Jim adds, “The interesting thing about this record is what comes out of the speakers. To make a good record is an achievement if you’re twenty-two, but to do it in your fifties, the way we are, I think is a minor miracle.” [Pitchfork]

Where would we be without Wikipedia? And by we I mean both the human race and people who write blog posts as quickly as possible about esoteric subjects. If I were trying to write this series without Wikipedia, most of my information would come from the comments written by the DJs themselves, some highly questionable blogs and other internet sources, and maybe the band’s own facebook page, if they’re still active. But we live in 2016 and we have Wikipedia, and there is what amounts to a highly detailed short book written by several collaborators over several years on just about any topic, including Mr. Paul Kelly, a quite distinguished musician from Australia. (BTW you should go kick Wikipedia a few bucks before the end of the year. Their little pitch is at the top of every page right now. Try this one.) In fact, you could almost say there’s too much information to digest on some Wikipedia pages, and it might be that sometimes I end up getting most of my information from the DJ comments. But they were a very smart bunch!
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One thing about Paul Kelly is that he belongs to that highly selective club of people with incredibly questionable band names inspired by (or connected with) classic rock songs. Unlike some NW bands that I could name (but won’t), Mr. Kelly at least understood that maybe his original, Lou Reed-inspired name wouldn’t fly in the States, so he released albums here as the Messengers. Eventually he shifted to the Messengers across all markets, which might have been more for the sake of convenience than any revelation that his chosen name was exploitative and wrong. (I mean, imagine the hassle of getting t-shirts printed with different band names for an international tour!) But these days he just goes as “Paul Kelly,” and I’ll just give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s learned the errors of his old, mid-to-late-’80s ways. (He seems to have shaved and ditched the sunglasses, too.)<

“Much like a country type pop rock. First track tells it all. I like it. Lyrics are good in most the songs. Harmonica voicing w/jazzy tunes.” [I think these first two were written by the same person, but they’re on different labels and signed individually.]

“Definitely more straight up rock, especially compared to most of the Australia artists we have been seeing…”

“Why doesn’t he shave and take off the sunglasses. It gives him away. Really.”

“In Australia, they’re called ‘Paul Kelly & the Coloured Girls.'”

“A wonderful live performer, grade footballer and altogether fine songwriter. The arrangements can be a bit AORish but it’s the thought that counts (with me, anyway, who loves P Kelly dearly!)”

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unrealeased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJ’s think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, is “It Had To Change” by Sonny Knight & The Lakers from their 2016 album, Sooner or Later, on Secret Stash Records.

For the rest of the year, we’ll be spotlighting our KEXP DJs Top Albums of 2016, leading up to our 2016 90.3 Top Album Countdown! Voting ends on Friday, December 9th at 6:00 PM PT, so let us know your favorites now, and tune in on Friday, December 16th to hear if your picks made the list! Anyone who votes is automatically entered to win the Top 10 Albums of 2016 as voted on by you, the listener, provided by Sonic Boom Records. Winners will be notified by email on Friday December 16th.

It’s been five years since she’s toured the States, but who knows how long it’s been since she’s been to Seattle? That all changes in 2017 as PJ Harvey embarks on a North American tour in support of The Hope Six Demolition Project. A press release states she’ll be joined by an impressive 10-piece band, including musicians Alain Johannes, John Parish, Mick Harvey, Alessandro Stefana, Enrico Gabrielli, Jean-Marc Butty, Kenrick Rowe, and Terry Edwards. The Seattle show is scheduled for Friday, May 5th at WaMu Theatre. Tune in to The Morning Show tomorrow, Thursday, December 8th, for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the show, before they even go on sale to the public! [Spin]

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, featured on the Afternoon Show with Kevin Cole, comes from Robyn Hitchcock and Emma Swift. “Life Is Change” is the B-side to their single “Love Is A Drag”, released this year on the duo’s own Tiny Ghost Records.

Beloved New York dance-punks LCD Soundsystem have announced their first show of 2017: headlining the Forecastle Festival, taking place July 14-16 in Louisville, Kentucky. Also on the bill are Weezer, Odesza, PJ Harvey, Run the Jewels, to name just a few. Founder/frontman James Murphy announced earlier this year that the band had ended their 5-year-hiatus and were working on a new album. If you missed that announcement, check out Murphy’s lengthy, candid open letter about it here, where he breaks it down: “here were our choices: 1. make music with your friends and call it something else, which seems hilarious (everteen) or egomaniacal to the point of sociopathic (james murphy solo record). 2. make music, but willfully exclude your friends because of the horrors in option 1. 3. make an lcd record with your friends, who want to make said record, and deal with whatever fall-out together. 4. don’t make music, to avoid the horrors of all of the above. 5. make music and, like, hide it somewhere. we decided, clearly, on option 3, and i was fully prepared for a certain amount of “oh fuck that guy” over-it stuff—in fact welcomed it.” [Spin]